


Kinship

by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel



Series: Ancestry [3]
Category: Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies), Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding, Covers the events of Jurassic World 1 only, Dinosaur/Human Hybrids, F/M, Genetic Engineering, Indominus Rex - Freeform, Introspection, Jurassic World, Kinship, The Big Question: what exactly is in the Indominus Rexes' DNA?, actual communication, and I seriously diverge from canon beginning in the first fic in this series, it only acknowledges Jurassic Park 1 and Jurassic World 1, no idea when I will update this next - you have been warned!, read the first two fics or you won't understand this one, so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should, so you really do need to read the whole series okay?, the series in which Claire Dearing is part-raptor, this fic ignores some of the Jurassic Park films, this fic starts a little while before Jurassic World 1 and goes from there, what is the true meaning of family?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-03-06 17:21:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18855559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel/pseuds/TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel
Summary: “I am Claire Dearing, successful Operations Manager for Jurassic World, and I am utterly, completely human.”(That statement is a lie.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this took me so long to write, guys! No idea when it will get updated - you have been warned!

** Kinship **

** Chapter One **

“I am Claire Dearing, successful Operations Manager for Jurassic World, and I am utterly, completely human.”

Claire studied her reflection. On the outside, every word she’d just spoken appeared to be true… but Claire knew that they were anything but. Deep down, beneath the squishy exterior and carefully silenced instincts, part of Claire was still _predator_. Sure, she was human… but she was also, as she knew all too well, much more than that.

After a moment Claire sighed, and began getting ready for the day. She had an important meeting to get to. She tried to keep herself focused and on-task as she got ready, but it was difficult, because she’d had one of the dreams, again.

Claire shook her head, and did her best to think of something else.

Claire was going to meet the Indominus rexes today, and that was important – despite Claire’s _deep_ misgivings, she knew that the park needed new attractions to keep going, or sooner or later it would all be over the many animals which lived in Jurassic World.

However, Claire was troubled by the creation of these new dinosaurs – animals which had never existed in nature. It was bad enough, she thought, that they had resurrected creatures which had lived sixty-five million years ago or more,filling the holes in their DNA with whatever best seemed to fit. 

But the Indominuses weren’t _natural_ in any sense of the word. They were patchwork creations, creatures that had never evolved in nature: instead, they had been created in a lab. There were bound to be all kinds of issues with the Indominuses because of it – and no one on the island could predict what those issues might be, because something like the Indominus Rex had never existed before.

Most importantly, however, the Indominuses were living things, like everything else on this island, and they deserved the best care they could be given. How could anyone know what that best care was, when no one had any idea _what they had even been made from_ , thanks to the fact that the Indominus Rex’s genetic profile was still kept top-secret by InGen?

To Claire, the situation had the word _disaster_ written all over it. But she had to do her best, because all the animals in the park were counting on her to do so. Even the Indominuses.

Claire cared about the dinosaurs more than she would ever admit to anyone else, feeling a sense of kinship with them because of her heritage. She’d even visited the raptors Owen Grady supervised, when the raptors were still juveniles, and had fallen in love with them. 

The babies had been just as enamoured of her, trilling in excitement and scent-marking the sturdy boots she always wore after her first impromptu visit, mindful of their tiny, sharp teeth. Claire hadn’t dared trill or coo back at them, but she’d rubbed their eye ridges and spoken softly to them, bringing them treats which had been approved by their handler.

That was probably why Owen had asked her out on that disaster of a date, but it hadn’t worked out, to say the least. Claire had been so angry and humiliated over the whole thing that after that, she’d only visited the raptors when Owen wasn’t around; and once they grew big enough to get their own enclosure on the other side of the island, she didn’t have much excuse to go and see them as often as she did when they were still babies. But in her mind, they were still family – still _pack_. She missed them dreadfully.

Claire sighed, and glanced at the clock. Time to get going and head off to meet the Indominuses for the first time. 

It had taken her two months of arguing just to get to this point… but, perhaps because of the rapport Claire had shown with the raptors, Dr Wu had finally agreed to allow Claire, and Claire alone, to enter the Indominus enclosure. An enclosure that literally no human had entered since the Indominuses had been ‘born,’ so to speak… and that, as much as anything else, rang alarm bells in Claire’s mind. 

Claire had been obliged to sign legal documents saying that she and her relatives wouldn’t hold either InGen or the park responsible for anything that might happen if she entered the enclosure, but Claire knew that if she took her responsibilities seriously, this course of action was entirely necessary.

As always, entering the labs made her feel uneasy, on-edge. Bright lights and smells that Claire didn’t consciously recognise – but which were horribly _familiar_ , all the same – combined to set off all of Claire’s more dangerous instincts. It took much more self-control than she liked to keep her polite, practised smile on her face as she strode down the corridors.

For once, she didn’t look the picture of professionalism. Not knowing what she was about to face, Claire had decided to wear long pants made of durable fabric, of the kind the dinosaur handlers wore, as well as steel-toed boots and all the appropriate protective gear.

Dr Wu was waiting for her in the Indominus enclosure’s observation room.

“I see that you are taking this seriously,” he murmured, eyeing her up and down.

“Yes, well, I have no idea what I’m about to face,” said Claire briskly, no sign of her fraught nerves in either her expression or posture, which was carefully relaxed. “The Indominus is not a known quantity, especially as InGen refuses to release the details of their genetic makeup.”

“That is proprietary information,” said Dr Wu, in gentle rebuke.

“I know, but it means we have no idea what we are actually dealing with, here. Hence the precautions.” Claire looked at Dr Wu, her gaze searching his. “I still question the fact that their handling is performed remotely, without a human handler involved. It means we have no idea how they will react to people.”

“Isn’t that the point of this exercise?” Dr Wu asked, with a smile. Claire wasn’t fooled by it: his gaze was sharp and assessing, looking her over for any tells. 

Claire gave him none.

“I suppose,” Claire said, and exhaled in a short puff of air. “Dr Wu, if you would let me in?”

“Of course,” said the scientist, and he used his pass to open the door. Claire walked through it.

There was a second set of doors, further in, made of heavily-reinforced glass. Cameras were mounted across the ceiling to capture the Indominuses’ every movement. Claire opened the secondary set of doors, and closed them behind her as she stepped through.

The Indominus enclosure was a bare, empty space, save for a few dog toys lying around the place and the two sleeping kennels at the far end of the room. There was no stimulation, nothing to make the Indominuses living space anything but a kind of living hell. 

Claire experienced a swell of anger, but forced it back down, staying calm out of long practice. Then, for the first time since she had entered the room, Claire breathed in through her nose, inhaling the smell of the room. The scent in the air was so very _familiar_ … 

With a thrill of horror and a rush of absolute, all-encompassing _rage_ , Claire recognised it.

She closed her eyes, and stood very still, controlling her breathing so that no one watching through the cameras would pick up on the sheer fury that she was feeling. It was while her eyes were closed that Claire heard the scrape of claws on wood, and then the _click-click_ of claws on concrete. Coming closer.

Claire opened her eyes and flicked her gaze downward, without moving her head.

The Indominuses were very small for a dinosaur, still: perhaps the size of a medium-sized dog. Their hides were a startling shade of white, quite unlike that any of the other dinosaurs that Claire had ever seen. And as they moved close, their scent intensified. 

Claire stared at them both for a moment as they approached, and then in as soft voice as she could manage, she said, “Hello.”

Both Indominuses stopped in their tracks, sniffing the air and staring at Claire. Then, cautiously, one let out a chirp.

“Hello,” said Claire, a second time. Slowly, she crouched down, and took off one of the protective gloves she was wearing. Her hand forming a fist, she held it out.

In terms of looks, the Indominuses resembled the famous T-rex somewhat in the shape of their head and snout. Claire knew that the bite pressure of the T-rex was considerable, which probably meant that the juvenile Indominuses, with their similarly-shaped jaws, could give a nasty bite. But Claire didn’t flinch as the dinosaurs crept closer and stretched out their necks so that they could sniff at Claire’s hand. 

Claire stayed in her current pose for a good ten minutes, allowing the Indominuses to scent her. Neither Indominus showed the slightest sign of fear. Their eyes were bright, their gazes fixed intently on Claire.

Finally Claire decided that it was safe to unclench her fist, and slowly moved her hand.

The nearest Indominus, the bigger one, watched curiously as Claire’s hand came closer and closer. Then Claire was gently stroking the top of its head, and it let out a startled sound.

“Easy,” Claire said, her voice soothing. “Easy there. I won’t hurt you.”

Slowly the Indominus relaxed into Claire’s touch until it was actively nudging its head into her hand, without a doubt encouraging the patting that Claire was giving it.

The second Indominus was hanging back, watching the scene. Claire deliberately made eye contact, glanced down at the Indominus she was patting, and then made eye contact again with the smaller Indominus. 

She waited with bated breath to see if it would understand her body language.

The second Indominus looked from Claire to its sibling, and then back to Claire. A moment later it started moving.

As it came into arm’s reach, Claire moved to pat it on the head, the same way as she was doing with the first Indominus. A moment later, and both Indominuses were making happy trilling noises.

Claire let out the breath she had been holding.

The second Indominus had understood, even at this young age, _exactly_ what Claire had been trying to communicate. That suggested… all kinds of things that Claire couldn’t afford to think about right now, or she was going to go into a berserker rage and kill Wu where he stood.

She stayed in the enclosure for a good half-hour. Both babies, by the end, were cuddled up to her, making a contented sound in the back of their throats. 

Claire ached, deep in her chest, when she had to shoo them away in a stern voice and walk back through the door, leaving the babies and their distraught cries behind. But Claire made herself do it, all the same.

When she emerged into the observation room, Dr Wu was staring at the screen in front of him. The Indominuses were attempting to break down the door that Claire had disappeared through, the sound of their woebegone calls issuing from the speaker next to the screen.

“Remarkable,” Dr Wu murmured, transferring his gaze from the screen to Claire. “They established an immediate bond with you.”

“That’s hardly surprising,” said Claire, with more bite in her voice than she meant to use, but she really couldn’t help it. She was barely holding herself together – she was just _so angry_. “They’re _babies_. They’re latching onto the first living thing they’ve ever seen besides each other.”

Dr Wu didn’t respond, his eyes still on Claire, his expression considering.

“They need a handler,” Claire continued firmly, ignoring how badly she wanted to snarl and go for Wu’s face. “Socialisation is important, especially if they’re going to be interacting with humans later in life – even from behind glass. And they need _something_ to give them some kind of stimulation, or they’ll start attacking each other just for something to do.”

“You raise a good point,” said Dr Wu. “Until now, we were unsure of whether the Indominus juveniles would tolerate a human handler, but you have offered evidence that they will. I’ll make arrangements immediately.”

“Good,” said Claire. “If you can address all of those points, then I see no reason to be concerned. Now, if you will excuse me…”

“Of course,” said Dr Wu, smiling his carefully-benign smile, and Claire fled the labs, in a calm and dignified stride, and headed back to her apartment.

There she took a deep, controlled breath, trying not to scream in frustration and rage and worry, attempting to process the fact that the Indominus genome… had probably as much human DNA as it did dinosaur, judging by the Indominuses’ scent.

A scent which was so very, very like Claire’s own.

Claire exhaled, because those baby dinosaurs were _kin_ , Claire’s own flesh-and-blood. And that meant something to Claire on a deep and visceral level, whether she liked it or not.

With another deep breath, Claire summed up her feelings.

“ _Fuck_.”

* * *

There was a reason that Claire didn’t see as much of Karen as she used to, before Karen’s kids were born.

Claire had been there for Zach’s birth, and it had nearly undone her. Not the birth itself, but… afterwards.

“Here, you can hold him,” Karen had said, breathless and exhausted and utterly, completely _happy_. As though all her dreams had come true at once.

“Oh, I don’t think–” Claire had begun to say. But Karen had cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

“Don’t be silly,” Karen had said, and she’d shoved baby Zach into Claire’s arms before Claire could even protest the idea.

Claire had found herself holding an armful of newborn baby, one which smelled very like Karen. Something fierce and protective had welled up inside Claire right then, and she had known, without a doubt, that she would kill for this child if was ever necessary. He might not be hers by blood, but he was _Karen’s_ – and Karen was Claire’s sister in every way that mattered.

Claire had been frightened by the intensity of her own emotions, and after that, she’d allowed the fast pace of her new job to give her a reason for not visiting all too often. Because Zach was _pack_ , but he was also tiny and fragile. Claire could have killed him in an instant, if she’d wanted to. His vulnerability was as terrifying as her newfound protective instincts. It was easier to make up excuses than face the truth.

She’d come to visit when Gray was born, because Karen wouldn’t have forgiven her otherwise, and like Zach, he’d been the source of new and frightening feelings which Claire had tried to deny or ignore ever since.

Claire found herself thinking of the two boys as she considered the existence of the Indominuses.

She wanted to think about this situation calmly and logically… but she couldn’t. Those babies – and they _were_ babies; tiny dinosaur babies who had shown a level of intelligence in Claire’s brief test that had her wondering exactly how comparable their intelligence was to a human’s – were Claire’s _sisters_. Claire could smell it on them, unmistakeable. That same powerful rush of feelings she got from dealing with Karen’s kids had surged within her the moment she’d breathed in their familiar scent. 

But Claire had also been _angry_. She had been furious at the Indominuses’ lack of adequate living conditions, of course… but she had also absolutely enraged about the fact that they even existed. 

Human-dinosaur hybrids were not meant to be: Claire was living proof of that. Her life had been difficult, in ways she could never describe to anyone else. It still was. There was a gulf between her and the rest of humanity, Claire had said to Dr Malcolm on her very first visit to Jurassic World, a gulf she just couldn’t bridge. 

That gulf was still there, because try as she might, Claire could never quite connect to other people’s lived experiences the way that other, ordinary human beings _could_. It left her lonely and alone, unable to articulate the grief and fury no one else could ever even know she was feeling.

The thought of the baby Indominuses going through something similar, always feeling wrong in their own skin… it made her want to howl in rage and tear someone’s throat out with her teeth. Which was the perfect example of why beings like her ought not to exist, really.

Claire sighed, slowly unwinding from her state of fury, and finding exhaustion left in its wake.

So, the Indominuses existed. The real question was, what exactly was she going to do about it?


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter Two **

****

****

****

**_ One year later… _ **

**__ **

As Claire stood, looking out into the Indominus Rex enclosure, she was hyper-aware of Mr Masrani standing next to her. Because in the end, it was his choice – his and the Board’s – what would happen to the two Indominus rexes currently living in said enclosure.

_ The Indominuses _ , Claire thought. She had to remember to call them that, while she was dealing with Mr Masrani. She needed to seem as professional as possible, regardless of how she really felt.

As Mr Masrani stared through the glass separating them from the Indominuses, Claire stayed carefully still, ignoring the urge she felt to prowl restlessly around the room.

“Henry Wu tells me that you were very involved in the… upbringing… of these two new dinosaurs,” said Mr Masrani, at length.

Claire allowed herself a smile. 

“ _Upbringing_ is a good word for it,” she said, and taking a deep breath, she launched into the spiel she’d prepared just in case she was asked that very question. 

“You have to understand, the animals in this park have no parents, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have parent-child bonding instincts. Not to mention that for the more… _intelligent_ … animals, it seems that a significant percentage of their behaviour is learned, rather than innate. That leaves the need for something or someone to step in, to teach them how to interact with their environment and everything else in it. To teach them how to _interpret_ their instincts, if you will.”

Claire paused to check that Mr Masrani was still listening. He was, rather intently.

“The Indominuses are probably the most intelligent animal on this island, aside from the humans. We haven’t done much serious testing of their cognitive abilities, because they were created as an attraction, rather than for any other purpose… however, from my own observations of their behaviour, it appears that they possess a sense of object permanence–”

“Object permanence?” Mr Masrani interrupted.

Claire nodded.

“The understanding that objects and events occur and exist independently of themselves,” she explained, and went on. “They can also reason their way through quite complex puzzles – delivered in the form of toys designed by Dr Wu–”

And Claire wasn’t entirely happy that Dr Wu had thought to do that, but after observing her interactions with the Indominuses, he had thought it worthwhile to try and test their intelligence in whatever way he could. Claire hadn’t dared to show how worried that made her.

She didn’t share her unease with Mr Masrani, however, but went right on talking.

“–although it is difficult to say with certainty where their exact level of intelligence lies, as some of the puzzles they were unable to solve may have required a manual dexterity which the Indominuses simply did not possess.”

Their forelimbs ended in what looked remarkably like a human hand tipped with claws, Claire knew, even if no one else had noticed that fact. But their fine motor-control wasn’t as good as it could have been, which meant that the results of some of Dr Wu’s testing had been ‘inconclusive.’ 

“I see,” said Mr Masrani. He looked thoughtful.

Claire didn’t tell him that the Indominuses also understood language. She didn’t think that Dr Wu, for all his careful observations, had picked up on that. But Claire had seen them respond to the things she said, in ways that only made sense if they understood her _words_ rather than her tone of voice.

Once she’d started to work that out, she’d done her best to broaden their vocabularies as best she could, without alerting Dr Wu to their linguistic capabilities. It was like walking a narrow tightrope, with the slightest misstep potentially leading to fatal results. Because if people _knew_ that the Indominuses could respond to complex commands, and might even be inclined to follow them if they were given by the right person…

Well, Claire was careful not to give that fact away, and she tried not to imagine what InGen might do with that information.

“Henry also told me that you gave them names,” said Mr Masrani, breaking the silence.

Claire allowed herself a smile that was entirely fake. The Indominuses weren’t just animals, they were part- _human_ , and that meant… all kinds of things. Giving them each a name was something that Claire could immediately fix.

“Well, it makes them easier to tell apart,” she said, trying to sound a little sheepish.

The truth was that they were _people_ , intellectually and emotionally, and names were the very least that they deserved. Claire only wished that she could do more.

Mr Masrani smiled as Claire acted as though trying to hide embarrassment.

“Don’t be ashamed,” he said. “It is good that you can see that they are living things, rather than mere assets. I wish more people could see that.” He paused a beat. “What did you name them?”

“Indy and Jones,” said Claire, as though making a confession, and Mr Masrani looked amused.

“I see.”

Mr Masrani transferred his gaze after a moment, looking back through the glass into the Indominus enclosure.

“So when will I get to see them?” he asked.

“One moment.” 

Claire nodded to Dave, who was in charge of the Indominus enclosure. She knew him quite well now after visiting the Indominuses so often, although only in a superficial kind of way; she asked after his wife every now and again, and they talked to each other about the weather. 

“Dave, would you put on _Go Your Own Way_ by Fleetwood Mac, please?”

“Sure,” said Dave, with a smile. He glanced at Mr Masrani, and said in a confiding voice, “You’re going to love this, sir.”

Mr Masrani’s brow furrowed as Dave opened one of the control boxes at the side of the room. An iPod was hooked up to a cable there, and as Claire and Mr Masrani watched, Dave selected a song before flipping a switch in the control box.

A second later, music began blaring through the speakers at the corners of the Indominus enclosure.

A few seconds after that, the trees began to move as though something was rushing through them, and a moment later, one of the Indominuses stepped into the clearing at the centre of their enclosure.

The Twins, as Claire referred to them inside her own mind, loved any music with a strong percussive beat. They would bob their heads, their bodies swaying, and whistle along with the melody as best they could. 

As Mr Masrani stared out through the display window, his mouth falling open, Indy let out a roar of delight and began to dance. Jones soon joined her sister in the clearing, and began mirroring the dance. 

“They’re… synchronised,” Mr Masrani muttered, still gaping in astonishment. Then he shook his head in wonder. “Dinosaurs that _dance_.”

Claire smiled fondly, making sure that Mr Masrani didn’t see her expression. Indy and Jones had made up a number of different dances, which they performed to different songs. 

Mr Masrani began to laugh, and Claire glanced at him in question. He met her eyes, smiling widely, and said,

“Who will not want to come here just to see the dinosaurs dance, after the first time such a video pops up on Youtube?” He turned to look back at Indy and Jones, who were really getting into their dance. “Amazing.”

Claire smiled perfunctorily, irritated as always by the reminder that her sisters’ only value, as far as the rest of the world was concerned, was purely monetary.

But she had a job to do, which was to protect them as best she could, and as long as the CEO and the Board thought that Indy and Jones would bring in huge numbers of tourists and make lots of money, then she knew that their care and safety was assured.

“That is what we try to sell, isn’t it?” she asked, smiling with slightly-too-many teeth. “Something _amazing_.”

“Quite right,” said Mr Masrani, and then, “I see why you fought so hard for the extra expense of building such a big enclosure. They are large even for dinosaurs, aren’t they?”

Claire did not snarl, but only out of long practice. Instead she said,

“If we wanted to meet the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ accreditation requirements, it was necessary.”

She didn’t add that the _lack_ of such accreditation was all that it would take to launch animal activists into a passionate campaign against the park. And Jurassic World couldn’t afford that kind of negative publicity.

“Hmm, yes,” said Mr Masrani. His eyes were on the Indominuses again. “How secure is their enclosure?”

“As secure as the engineers believed it needed to be.” 

“And the animals’ temperament?”

Claire shrugged.

“Much the same as any other carnivorous dinosaur?” she offered, even though that wasn’t entirely true.

“Hmm,” said Mr Masrani again. “I understand that InGen’s raptor project has an animal behaviour expert. One Owen Grady. You know him, I believe?”

Claire fought the urge to groan.

“We’ve met,” she said neutrally.

“Speak tohim. Tell him that I wish for him to assess this enclosure,” said Mr Masrani. “He is used to dealing with clever animals. I want to be sure that he finds no weaknesses here.”

Claire’s eyebrows rose.

“You’re worried about that? Our engineers–”

Mr Masrani interrupted her.

“The Indominus rexes are bigger than projected, yes?” He waited for her reluctant nod. “Then other things may also be… off. This is merely a precaution, Miss Dearing. I take the safety of our guests very seriously.”

“As do I.”

“Then we are on the same page,” said Mr Masrani.

Claire suppressed a sigh.

“Very well.”

“Good, good.” Mr Masrani smiled at her. “Well, I had best be on my way.”

They said their farewells, and Mr Masrani left, leaving Claire and Dave alone in the observation deck.

Claire snuck a sideways glance at Dave, who was peering at his thermos of coffee as though it had disappointed him somehow.

While no one was watching, Claire risked a wave through the glass.

Down in the enclosure, Jones gave a tiny wave back.

* * *

When Claire got back to the Innovation Center her assistant, Zara, was waiting in her office.

“Good morning, Zara,” said Claire.

“Your nephews are due to arrive in twenty-five minutes,” said Zara. “Are you _sure_ you want me to–”

“Zara, I’m sure you’ll do a fantastic job of chaperoning them,” said Claire firmly, because they’d already had this discussion. Several times. “They’re old enough to basically look after themselves, all they need is someone to watch over them. You’ll be fine.”

Zara didn’t look reassured. Claire changed the subject.

“How are the wedding plans going?”

Zara shrugged, and grimaced slightly.

“They’re... going.”

“That bad?”

“We had to find a new florist,” said Zara. “Do you know how hard it is to organise a wedding in London when you’re stuck on an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?”

“I can imagine,” said Claire. “But you’re very organised, Zara. You’ll find a way to make it work. Besides, don’t you go on leave next week? That should make things easier for you.”

Some of the tension in Zara’s shoulders lessened at the reminder.

“Well, yes – but in the meantime, it makes things difficult.”

“I’m sure it does,” said Claire, doing her best to sound sympathetic.

Zara sighed. Then she glanced at her watch, and said, “Right, your nephews. I should go and collect them.”

“Thank you again for that,” said Claire, already moving to sit at her desk. “I have some paperwork I need to deal with before Zach and Gray get here – but after that, I should be able to spend half an hour or so with them.”

“Don’t forget, you have that meeting with the potential park sponsors at eleven.”

Claire made a face, and didn’t even try to hide it.

“I’m sure you’ll do splendidly,” said Zara. “You always do. You’re very good at selling what we do here.”

“I know.” Claire gave a sigh. “I just hate that it’s necessary.” She looked at Zara. “Text me as soon as you and my nephews make it back here. I’ll come downstairs once you do.”

“Of course,” said Zara. “I’ll see you soon.” She gave an awkward little wave, and left Claire’s office.

Claire sighed again, and turned her computer on so that she could get started on her paperwork before Zach and Gray arrived.


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter Three **

****

“Aunt Claire!”

Claire, who was nearly all the way down the stairs that led into the main public area of the Innovation Center, glanced up as she heard the shout. She stepped off the final stair just as Gray ran over and threw his arms around her.

Claire hugged him back, a little awkwardly: she didn’t get hugged very often these days, with how rarely she got to see any of her family. While she welcomed the gesture, returning it was no longer something which came easily.

Gray stepped back, and blinked up at her. Zach jogged up behind them, while Zara followed a short distance behind Zach.

“Oh my goodness, you’ve both gotten so tall,” said Claire, feeling off-balance. 

Gray grinned, but Zach looked like he heard observation that a lot.

“How long has it been?” Claire asked, because she’d genuinely lost track. 

“Uh, three years,” said Zach, trying to sound casual.

“Has it really?” Claire felt a little dismayed. “God, you must think I’m a terrible aunt and sister.”

“No, of course not,” Gray was quick to reassure her, but Zach just shrugged in a way that didn’t look at all like disagreement.

“Well, you’re seeing me now.” Claire clapped her hands together and tried to smile. “I have an important meeting at eleven, so Zara will act as your chaperone after that, but I have at least half an hour before then. How do you guys feel about getting some ice-cream?”

Neither Gray nor Zach looked very happy with Claire’s words.

“You’re not going to be with us?” Gray asked. Claire sighed, and decided to go for honesty.

“I’ve cleared my schedule as much as I can, but – a lot of people are counting on me, Gray. And, well, I didn’t get much notice that you were coming, or I would have made sure there was more time with you built into my schedule. I’m sorry we won’t get to see more of each other, but Zara has passes for you for all the different attractions, and…”

Claire trailed off, because the boys still looked unhappy.

“What?” Claire asked, because Gray looked like he was trying not to cry, and that couldn’t possibly be just because the aunt he barely knew wasn’t going to spend time with him. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”

The boys exchanged glances.

“Mum and Dad are getting a divorce,” Zach said finally.

Claire was stunned.

“What?”

“Yeah. Things haven’t been so great, recently.” Zach gave a shrug that aimed for casual, but his expression was brittle. “If you’d visited more often, maybe you’d know.”

Claire stared at both her nephews.

“But… I talk to Karen on the phone, all the time,” she said, half to herself, half to the boys. “Why wouldn’t she _tell_ me?”

Neither Gray nor Zach had an answer. 

Claire ran through all of today’s meetings in her head, and – well, while she couldn’t cancel the sponsorship meeting at eleven because that was far too important, maybe…

Claire made a decision. She turned to Zara.

“Zara, push back my meetings with the Director of Personnel and the Head Keeper to Wednesday.”

“Wednesday? But you already have–”

“Cancel it.” Claire looked back at the two boys. “There. That should buy us some extra time together.”

Gray looked a little happier. Zach didn’t look like he cared much, but that might have been an act. Claire didn’t know him well enough to tell.

“Come on,” said Claire. “Let’s go get that ice-cream, and we can talk about what you’ve been up to until my meeting at eleven. I can’t cancel that one, but we can meet up again afterwards, and decide what you want to do for the rest of the day. Does that sound good?”

Gray nodded.

So Claire escorted them out onto Main Street where all the eateries were, and before long Claire, Gray, Zach and Zara were all doing their best to eat a truly enormous sundae each.

“So how’s school?” Claire asked Zach, and then mentally kicked herself. She remembered being a teenager well enough to know that no teenager wanted to talk about school.

“It’s okay,” said Zach, and clammed up again.

Gray was more talkative.

“My favourite subject is science, because of all the experiments,” he said, through a mouthful of ice-cream. He seemed to have cheered up a lot. 

Claire wondered whether his newfound cheer was because of her presence, or simply the ice-cream, and was a little amused.

“So tell me,” she said, “are you interested in dinosaurs, Gray?”

Gray nodded with great enthusiasm.

“Oh yeah! I mean, did you know–” and with those words he was off, rattling off a string of facts about different kinds of dinosaurs.

Zach let this go on for about a minute before interrupting.

“Dude. She works here. She probably knows all that stuff already.”

Gray paused, deflating slightly.

“ _Do_ you know all that, Aunt Claire?”

Claire was tempted to lie to spare his feelings, but in the end, honesty won out.

“I’m afraid so. I’ve always been interested in dinosaurs, and my Dad is a palaeontologist, so…” She shrugged.

Gray lit up again.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, “I forgot your Dad is Dr Grant. I’ve read his book!”

“Which one?” Claire asked, feeling curious. 

Gray’s answer was unequivocal.

“ _All_ of them.”

“Nerd,” said Zach. 

“There’s nothing wrong with being a nerd,” said Claire. “Do it right, and you can get a promising career out of it.”

“See?” Gray jabbed his brother with one index finger. “ _Aunt Claire_ says there’s nothing wrong with being a nerd.”

“Quit poking me.”

“Claire?” Zara was looking at her. “It’s ten to eleven.”

Claire sighed as she was reminded of her responsibilities.

“Right. Meeting. Very important meeting.” 

She sighed a second time.

“Meetings suck,” Zach offered. His words surprised Claire into a laugh.

“They do,” she agreed, getting to her feet. “Well, I’d better be going, but I’ll catch up with you guys again once I’m done. For now, Zara will show you around, okay?”

“Okay,” said Gray. Zach mumbled something which might have been assent, or might not.

“Take good care of them,” said Claire to Zara.

“I’ll do my best.”

Claire paused a moment, wondering if she should say something else to the boys, but they seemed happy enough to go back to eating their sundaes.

So she turned away from them, and began a brisk walk back to the Innovation Center.

The fact that Karen was apparently getting divorced was a shock. She and her husband had always seemed so happy… but then, as Zach had pointed out, it had been three years since Claire had last visited. A lot could happen in three years.

She needed to talk to Karen on the phone as soon as she got a chance later tonight. Before then, Claire had to meet with the potential sponsors…

…and then try and squeeze in a visit to Owen Grady at some point when she wasn’t showing her nephews around.

She really didn’t want to do it, but it had to be done. The best thing, really, would be to pay him a quick visit while her nephews were with Zara, and get him to assess Indy and Jones’ enclosure while she was busy with Zach and Gray, and report back to her later, once he was done.

Decision made, Claire walked into the Innovation Center and headed upstairs to meet with the potential sponsors, pasting a bright smile onto her face. 

It wouldn’t do to greet them without at least an appearance of enthusiasm. She had to really sell them the idea of working with the park, after all.

* * *

After the sponsorship meeting, which went as well as Claire had hoped for even if no one was committing to anything just yet, she drove down to visit Owen to ask him about doing an assessment of Indy and Jones’ enclosure. 

One of the things that Claire had always liked about Owen was that she didn’t have to be conciliatory towards him. Owen had a bullshit-meter like no one she’d ever met, and no tolerance for bullshit, either. 

So much of Claire’s job meant putting on a false face over what she was really feeling, that she had found it… _relaxing_ , to just be herself in his presence, without having to worry that Owen might be offended because she was too direct about what she wanted or wasn’t ‘ladylike’ enough. 

Claire had met a lot of people who were put off by her manner – people who thought that she should be softer and ‘less demanding,’ as though expecting the best that people were capable of was somehow unreasonable – but Owen had never, ever been one of them. If anything, he’d actually _admired_ the fact that Claire was independent and tried to put herself in charge of whatever situation she found herself in.

Of course, Owen was _also_ used to taking charge, so perhaps it was inevitable that they’d clashed, Claire thought. She sighed as she remembered the board-shorts incident. 

She’d dressed up to the nines for their date, spending an hour and a half getting dressed to impress. But Owen? He hadn’t even made an effort in the appearance department, and that – well, it hurt, because Claire had honestly, genuinely _liked_ him. A lot.

Their fight hadn’t really been about the board-shorts at all. It had been about what they represented.

Because Claire wasn’t going to bend over backwards to try and please a man while he put in no effort at all – that was hardly an equal partnership. And Owen had called her _uptight_ , as though wanting to have him spend as much effort on their date as she had was a bad thing, and then–

Well, Claire didn’t lose her temper often, but she could be very cutting when she felt like it. She’d said some very unpolitic things that she regretted, now, because she’d gone on the attack instead of trying to explain why she was upset.

And Owen had just – turned and walked away. Left her standing there in front of everyone on Main Street, her cheeks burning with fury and mortification and _hurt_ , while she struggled not to snarl and lash out. 

Claire sighed again at the memory. She probably owed him an apology for what she’d said to him, even if she stood by her reaction to the board-shorts. Which meant she should probably begin preparing an apology speech, right now.

A few minutes later her car pulled up in front of the raptor enclosure.

Well. This promised to be excruciatingly awkward. 

Claire got out of the car anyway, and headed up onto the walkway to look for Owen. 

Instead, she ran into Barry Sembene.

“Ms Dearing,” he said, with a slight nod of acknowledgement.

“Mr Sembene,” she said, feeling awkward. “Is Mr Grady around?”

Barry’s eyebrows flew up.

“You want to talk to him?”

“I need to talk to him,” corrected Claire, a little wryly. A second later she tilted her head and then turned, as she heard the faintest scrape of boot on metal.

Owen was standing behind her, further down the walkway. As Claire finished turning to face him, he closed the space between them until they were only a couple of feet apart.

“So you finally decided to stop sneaking around behind my back to visit the raptors, huh?” were his opening words. Obviously he’d decided to go on the offensive. 

Claire… couldn’t entirely blame him, even if it got her hackles up.

“Mr Grady,” said Claire, falling back into the familiarity of formality. “I owe you an apology.”

Owen’s eyebrows slowly rose.

“The last time we… met, I said some things that I now have cause to regret,” said Claire, and paused as she realised she’d inadvertently rhymed. She hurried on with the rest of her prepared speech. “It was unreasonable of me to lash out, instead of explaining why I was upset.”

Claire paused to gauge Owen’s reaction.

Owen looked at her. 

“Wow,” he said. “Did that hurt? Apologising, I mean?”

Internally Claire bristled. On the outside, her expression remained the same.

“Owen–”

“So what do you want?” Owen went on, interrupting her. “Because you do want something, right? You made it pretty clear that you’ve been avoiding me, so I really doubt you’d have come to find me otherwise.”

“The park has been preparing a new exhibit,” said Claire, trying to remain composed. “Two new dinosaurs. Mr Masrani would like you to examine their enclosure to ensure that there are no weaknesses.”

“Two new dinosaurs? What are they?”

Claire hesitated. That was a more incisive question than Owen knew, and she wasn’t sure how, exactly, to answer it.

“They are… something new,” was what she settled on. “Their exact DNA is proprietary information belonging to InGen.”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” said Owen, holding up a hand. “Are you telling me that InGen _made up_ a new kind of dinosaur? And you don’t even know what those things are made of?”

“They’re not _things_ ,” said Claire sharply, before she knew what she was saying. A second later she closed her eyes, mentally kicking herself. She opened her eyes. “I’m sorry. You’re not the person I’m angry at.”

Owen scrutinised her, saying nothing. Just looked her over from head to toe.

“What?” asked Claire, becoming irritated and not bothering to try and hide it.

Owen’s expression went completely opaque, and he asked,

“Do you _know_ what’s in those dinosaurs, Claire?”

Claire pulled back her lips into something that someone else – someone who wasn’t Owen – might have called a smile.

But Owen worked with the raptors. He knew better than anyone that Claire’s expression really, _really_ wasn’t a smile.

Claire watched as his face turned wary.

“Of course not,” she said, still showing far too many teeth to make anyone sensible feel comfortable. “As I said, that’s proprietary information owned by InGen. Will you come with me and examine the enclosure?”

“Sure,” said Owen slowly. He glanced at Barry, who looked a little worried. “You got a car?”

“It’s this way.” 

Owen followed Claire back to her vehicle. Only when the car was moving and they were both on their way did Owen say, “Spill. What the hell is in those dinosaurs, Claire?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” said Owen immediately. “You’re angry enough about whatever they’ve done that it has to be bad. Are the dinosaurs dangerous?”

“ _No!_ ” said Claire, and then: “Well, _yes_ , they’re dinosaurs, of course they’re dangerous, but… it’s complicated.”

“So un-complicate it for me.”

“I can’t,” said Claire. She felt torn. 

Claire _trusted_ Owen, was the thing. Trusted him on an instinctive level, deep in her gut. She’d seen him with the raptors, and knew that he had a profound bond with them as a result of being the only parental figure they’d had besides Claire herself, but that wasn’t all. It was also the fact that Owen was just… _Owen_.

She wanted to tell him the truth, but it wasn’t only her own life she was gambling. How could she be sure of his reaction?

Owen glared at her, wanting answers, unaware of the thoughts going through her mind.

“Do you want me to go digging?” he demanded. “Because I can’t let this lie, Claire. If there’s something going on–”

“Just… examine their enclosure,” said Claire, feeling suddenly tired. “Watch them from the observation room, if you want. But you can’t say anything to anyone about their genetic makeup, or their lives are _forfeit_ , Owen.”

Owen stared at her.

“You’re not angry _about_ the dinosaurs. You’re angry _for_ them.” He sounded like it was a revelation.

Claire made a furious face, angry that he’d worked even that much out. Owen watched her for a moment.

“Okay, now I’m _really_ curious what makes them so special.” Claire glanced away from the road to aim her most powerful glare in his direction, and he held up his hands. “Alright, okay, I won’t go digging. But you owe me _answers_ , Claire.”

“Fine,” Claire said, with an edge of a snarl in it. She immediately took a deep breath, reeling in her temper. Owen’s only reaction was a raised eyebrow.

“You know, for a second there, you almost sounded like one of my raptors.”

He was clearly kidding, but his words made Claire almost drive the car into a tree by accident. She yanked it back on-course right at the last minute, while Owen was yelling,

“ _Jesus Christ_ , Claire!”

“I’m sorry!” said Claire, as she continued driving back to the main park hub. Then, because an explanation seemed necessary: “I have a lot going on right now, okay! My nephews are visiting because apparently my sister is getting a divorce and didn’t tell me, I’m worried for Indy and Jones… it’s a lot to deal with.”

She took another deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart after the near-miss with the tree.

“Indy and Jones?” Owen repeated.

Claire kept her eyes on the road

“The new dinosaurs. I named them.”

“Of course you did,” Owen muttered, but of all things, it sounded fond. 

Claire didn’t know what to do with that. Her heart tugged painfully, because she’d _missed_ Owen since their date-gone-wrong, even if she didn’t like to admit it. Before their date, she’d considered him a friend. Their date had ended that.

“What’s their official designation?” asked Owen.

“Indominus rex,” said Claire. “Why did you wear board shorts on our date?”

Owen groaned.

“If you’re just going to yell at me again–”

“I’m not,” said Claire. “It’s just – I dressed up, I tried to plan our date so it would go perfectly, and then you just – you didn’t make any effort at all.” Despite her best attempt at keeping her voice neutral, a tendril of hurt leaked into her tone. 

Claire glared at the road, annoyed that her voice had betrayed her.

“Aw, hell,” said Owen. “That’s really what you took from that?”

“What _else_ was I supposed to take from it?” snapped Claire, feeling stung.

Owen groaned again.

“Look, I’m a pretty laid-back guy, okay? I don’t do… penguins suits and fancy-dress. If that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not it. But I _did_ make an effort, Claire. I was going to ask if you wanted to go down to the beach with a picnic basket, with some food the catering guys had rustled up for me, and I thought we could have a nice romantic dinner under the stars. But then you started picking on me for the board-shorts the moment you got there, all–” 

Owen paused, and didn’t say _uptight_ even though it was clearly the word on his mind. 

“– _upset_ about what I was wearing, and with an itinerary for our date all planned out, without even asking me what I thought about it.”

Claire stared at the road, battling with her emotions. Beneath the regret and mortification, something that felt awfully like _shame_ was rising to the surface.

“Oh,” she said finally.

“Yeah. _Oh_.”

They drove for a little while without either of them saying anything.

“I’m sorry,” Claire said, breaking the silence. “I’m not really… good at the dating thing.”

“No kidding.”

Aiming a glare at Owen for a second before glancing back at the road, Claire admitted, “People don’t usually ask me out. Or if they do, it’s because they see me as a potential conquest. Dates are… rare for me.”

Owen was watching her, his expression unreadable.

“Is that why you said yes when I asked you out?”

“I said yes because I like you,” said Claire, deciding to be honest. She didn’t look at him. 

“Huh,” said Owen, after a moment, and then, “I get the feeling that doesn’t happen often for you.” His words might have been a jab at Claire, except for the fact that Owen’s voice was carefully neutral, as though he was trying not to cause any further offence.

Claire exhaled, because Owen wasn’t wrong. Most people she met, she didn’t particularly like. Owen had been an exception.

“No. It doesn’t.”

Silence fell.

“So, these new dinosaurs,” said Owen, after a few minutes had passed. “After I check out their enclosure, I want you to explain what the hell is going on.”

Claire thought about his request for a second.

“Claire?” Owen asked, when she took too long to respond.

“Okay.” Claire would have to think long and hard about exactly what to tell Owen, but… he was right. She had to tell him _something_. “But I promised my nephews I’d spend time with them while they’re here, so it’ll have to be later.”

“Fine then.”

They drove without speaking the rest of the way to Indy and Jones’ enclosure.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my last chapter for a week or two, probably...


End file.
